A/N: Gasp! Is this an update? Yes it is. Incredible, isn't it? I can't believe it myself. However, I had some trouble writing this chapter, since I do not believe in the simple 'happy-go-lucky' concept.

Thanks a lot to all my reviewers. You do make my day and warm my heart, which can't never get enough warmth unlike the rest of my boiling body.

Finally, due some recent events – if you want to use ANY of my ideas, please ask first and then cite me. Thank you.

Chapter 32 – "Ti Amo"

"Where exactly do you think you are heading?"

He turned around with no little trepidation. Just moments before he had asked himself what could be worse than facing all of Minerva's brothers; now he knew. The woman standing opposite him, was so similar to his beloved, but only in looks. He couldn't help it, he had always dreaded Diana McGonagall.

The middle one of the sisters had always been reckoned as the most beautiful, but Dumbledore could never agree. In his eyes, she lacked something that made both of her sisters absolutely endearing. In Diana's stance there was no warmth and a serious lack of kindness – she was as beautiful as a marble statue. Unfortunately, she was also just as cold.

Now, he faced her malicious question with a defiant look. "I am returning to the room that has been assigned for me."

The woman reacted with a raising eyebrow. "And from where exactly did you return?"

He kept silent.

She nodded in understanding. "I thought so. Done a little spying." She sighed. "I really want to know, who ever thought you were trustworthy. I always knew that one day, you would turn against us."

"I did not turn against you!"

In typical McGonagall-fashion the eyebrows rose again and with them Diana's voice. "What would you call that then? First, you become Minister of Magic – something you never wanted to be. At least according to your own words. Then you install that ridiculous creature as headmaster in Hogwarts – a place you swore you never would abandon. And to top it off, you preside over the jury to declare MY sister an outlaw. You – the one person she stupidly trusted – turn against her, have her convicted of a crime she never committed, YOU have her hunted like a criminal, YOU have her reputation shattered. YOU did all that, not anybody else. And YOU have the gall to tell me that you didn't turn against us?"

He swallowed, feeling it very hard to breathe. "I did not turn against Minerva – I could never do it."

Her voice turned mocking. "Who do you think shall believe that?" When no answer came, she continued mercilessly. "I'd enjoy it a great deal to let you pay for that. But you will pay one way or the other. Your new 'friend' will see to that."

Diana stepped closer and the usually courageous and powerful wizard felt something akin to fear creep up his spine. "Just tell me, how long did you play on both sides? When did you betray us? Was it even before Peri and Andy died? Was it when their son and daughter-in-law died? Was it when their grandson came to the school?" She whipped around and started to pace. "I knew there was something unnatural about all those things happening to the boy. You could have prevented it all the time, but you didn't, because you hoped he would perish on the way, right? Oh, you made it certainly appear innocent, but the facts stand. Why else did you not tell the boy about his fate, about his prophecy."

She stepped closer again, almost threateningly close. "I always knew you were nothing but trouble. But Min never wanted to see it. Being blinded by love as she was. She always thought you were so honourable, so trustworthy, so true. But then, in her innocent mind, the man she loved couldn't be anything else. And now you have shown your true face – made it clear that she was never more than a game for you. Tell me, Dumbledore: how many times did you betray my sister?"

Albus shook his head vigorously. "I never betrayed her. I could not, Diana. I love her."

"Love her? Funny. You almost could have fooled me. No, Dumbledore, you don't love my sister. You never did. You only played with her feelings, to keep her bound to you. To utilize her power for your plans. But no more. Your game is over. Do you hear me? Over!"

He backed away in shock. This was all too much to digest. His only reaction was to shake his head again and again.

But the woman was not deterred. Quite the contrary, her attacks seemed to gain vigour due to his lack of resistance. "You will pay for it, Dumbledore. You will never get the chance again to hurt any one of my family. Never again will you come close my sister, do you hear me? Never. Before I let you near her, I'll kill you myself!"

"Diana, stop it right there!" An angry yell came from the door.

Shooting around both occupants of the room could see the doorframe filled with the broad figure of Uray, his face full of shock and determination. Behind him, a smaller feminine frame could be distinguished.

Uray waved for his sister. "Come on Diana, it's enough. You have broken quite enough china in here."

The woman stayed stubbornly in her place. But in a battle of wits and wills, all of the McGonagall siblings could stand their ground. Uray stepped forward and yanked her towards the door.

When they went through the frame, Diana realized with a start that the feminine figure was none other than Minerva, staring wide-eyed at her. When they passed her, Minerva put her hand on her sister's arm. "Sym? I really appreciate your sentiment, but I'm still absolutely capable of fighting my own battles."

Before Diana had a chance to react, Minerva had entered the room and closed the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, Diana demanded: "Why did you do this, Uray? Why did you stop me?"

Uray sported a tired grin. "I figured that fighting you AND Minerva was a futile task. And weighing the consequences, it was better to stop you."

She felt her anger rise. "Why is it that everybody is willing to risk our lives so our sister can pursue a dead relationship?"

Her brother cupped her cheek tenderly. "Because this relationship is not dead, Sym, and will probably never be. Sym, Minerva loves him. With everything that is in her. She'd die for him. She'd kill for him." Uray paused. "And I am sure, he'd do the same for her."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes."

"He didn't act like it in the recent past."

"No, he didn't. And no, I have not forgotten it."

"He'll have to pay for it."

Uray chuckled. "Oh trust me, Dumbledore will pay for it. When this is all over, he'll pay."

"When this is all over, we all might be dead. Without punishing that jerk."

"Probably, Sym."

"Why not do it now, then?"

Uray sighed. "It's just not the time for it now. We cannot waste our energy on avenging our sister's broken heart and honour. I don't know how clear Melina's action has made it that Min is alive. We don't know what reaction Voldemort will have. One thing is for certain, he will strike and soon. And we need to be prepared. Min will have to fight. And we must be prepared to fight alongside with her. It is not the time to get even with Dumbledore now. We might even need him at some point in the near future."

His sister humphed. "I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. Nobody hurts my sister like that. Nobody!"

Her brother grinned. "I promise you, when this is all over, Dumbledore will pay for his treatment of Minerva."

"Yes, because I'll kill him myself."

"Stand in line, Sym. Stand in line."

Diana futilely tried to look angry. But seeing the laugh twinkling in her brother's eyes undid her and she started to chuckle along with him.

It was like that, that Dion found them. "Come on you two. We still need to plan of how to enforce the wards around the property. The constant attempts to get through them have weakened them considerably."

"Coming." Uray called, and the three siblings made their way back to the study.

----

Inside the chamber, Albus and Minerva still stood facing each other in silence. The atmosphere was heavy with tension. It seemed as if neither found the words or the courage to utter them.

Finally, Albus couldn't stand it anymore. "You are alive." He said.

Minerva only nodded.

The silence became even more oppressive. At last, Albus started in a grave voice. "Minerva, I would very much like to apologize for what I have done, but I do not know where to start and I don't know everything that I have to apologize for, either. However, you must believe me that I never wanted to harm you or hurt you. I could never do that to you." He sighed.

Minerva smiled a very small smile. "I know."

"Do you forgive me then?"

"I didn't say that."

He looked at her, with a look of sorrow. Of course, though he had not expected it to be an easy absolution, still her refusal stung. "What do you mean?"

"Albus, for what you did to me, I cannot forgive you, because I am fairly certain that you were not in your right mind when you did them."

"Many people will say that I am never in my right mind."

A wry smile graced her features. "As for what you did to anybody else, I have to admit that I am not in a position to forgive you or absolve you. There aren't many things known of what you did during the last weeks. And whatever you did, what it comes down to, is that only you can forgive yourself, for whatever has happened."

A flash of anguish appeared on his face. "I don't know what I have done. So many hours over the last weeks have been completely blank in my memory."

Minerva lowered her head briefly, then again looked him square in the face. "I'm afraid nobody can help you there, Albus. There are only a few facts which have become public knowledge."

"Which ones?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, first of all, Fudge disappeared. And suddenly, you took on the position of the Minister of Magic. Then you signed the edict, which convicted me of treason and attempted murder. Due to that you had me hunted by Ministry officials. And you made You-Know-Who headmaster of Hogwarts."

"That's it?"

"No more is known."

He covered his face with his hands. "Those are the basic facts and I am unable to fill them with any background. I could have committed a murder and don't remember it. Fudge is dead. That much I know, but how he died, when and why, I have no knowledge of." He shook his head in despair. "So many things happened, and I don't know why. I don't know which role I played and I don't know how it could have come so far."

In a quick move, Minerva stepped forward and clasped Albus' hands. "We will find out, Albus. Whatever happened, I am sure we can clear it up. Don't worry about it. While we straighten out this mess, we will find what is lost of your memories."

Albus smiled and squeezed her hand, while with the other, he cupped her cheek. Minerva automatically leaned into his touch. "My dear, my memory might be full of holes, but one thing I distinctly remember. This," he let go of her hand and pulled out a chain from under his robes. From the delicate chain a small statue was dangling, "is not the piece of the set which I usually wear."

Minerva blushed. "I…I…well, I just had to come and see you. To give myself a reason to fight on."

He sighed sagely. "And I didn't wake up."

Her smile was very tender. "No, you didn't wake up. But I knew you were dreaming of me."

Finally, he smiled as well. "Yes, I dreamt of you. I dreamt of the night I gave you this."

Tears were springing into Minerva's eyes and she barely managed not to let them fall. Once again, Albus reached up to cup her cheek. "Minerva, I do love you. I will until my last breath and beyond. Please, never doubt my love for you."

"I do not doubt your love. It is eternal, just as is my love for you."

"But you do not trust me."

She tossed her head back helplessly. "Albus, it is not so easy. If we could stay forever in this room, where what only counts is that I love you and you love me, it would be that easy indeed. But we can not stay here eternally. At some time we have to get out and I will have to fight. This time will come soon, very soon. And the fact remains that you did strange things during the last weeks. Things that destroyed the trust many people had put into you."

He heaved an exasperated sigh. "I know that I have disappointed many people over that last months. And I know that it will be extremely difficult to convince them that I didn't do them intentionally."

Minerva started pacing. "I believe you. But exactly this is the point. Nobody knows what hold You-Know-Who had or – even more important – still has over you. I believe that you didn't do it on purpose and I also believe that as long as you remain in this room, you will not do anything against me. But what happens when you come face to face with You-Know-Who? Will you still be on my side? Or will whatever influence he has over you rear its head and turn you over to his aid?"

The paleness of Dumbledore's face had grown with every word his love had uttered. Her statement sounded awful, but unfortunately was true in every word. In the fight that was about to ensue, he would be more of a burden than an asset and it broke his heart. Had he not promised to protect his love? Had he not vowed to himself that he would never let her go into a fight alone? And yet, he had to. He just had to, in order to save her from more danger. At that moment, Albus Dumbledore not only felt the weight of the world on him, but he also felt old – old, despairing and useless.

It must have shown on his face, for Minerva suddenly stepped close and pulled him into a tight embrace. "No, love," she whispered, "don't beat yourself up over this. You are still the most powerful wizard of our age. And you are still the most energetic, fascinating, handsome and certainly most childish wizard in this world. And you are most definitely still the only man in this whole wide universe I could ever love." She pulled back and stared into his eyes earnestly. "I do love you, Albus. I always will."

"And I love you, my Goddess."

And slowly, just so slowly they inched closer until, finally – after what seemed like forever – their lips met in a sweet kiss. It did not stay a 'sweet kiss' for long. Very quickly it evolved into a passionate embrace. Weeks of pent-up emotion and longing were poured into the meeting of their lips.

The couple completely lost themselves in their encounter, until an ever growing groaning and creaking shook them out of their own little world.

Minerva turned her head, with a nervous expression on her face. "What is this?"

Just as the words left her mouth, the groaning and creaking turned into a deafening roar and the ground began to shake.

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